- Financing for energy security rose to a record in 2025, with €11.6 billion invested in European grids, and mobilising around a third of the total energy transition investment
- Biggest ever financing programme for startups, scale-ups and tech infrastructure consolidates EIB Group’s position as cornerstone of EU’s venture capital ecosystem
- Scope of security and defence investments expanded, financing quadruples to reach nearly 5% of EIB Group’s annual EU business, in milestone year of historic decisions
- Financing for housing innovation, renovation and new construction rose by 50%, while more than half of EIB Group’s EU financing went to projects in cohesion regions
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is deploying its full firepower to support European competitiveness, security and strategic autonomy, with a record €100 billion in annual financing. The results from the EIB Group’s activity in 2025 show historic highs in new investment for the green and digital transitions, for European security and defence, for shared priorities including housing, and for reinforcing win-win partnerships and alliances in Ukraine, accession countries and across the globe.
“Europe is a superpower, and we must punch our weight and believe in our capabilities,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “The EIB Group is making a difference. Investing in shared prosperity, security, strategic autonomy and European values, so Europe delivers on its promises to citizens and partners.”
Transition to the future
Almost 60% of EIB Group’s total financing in 2025 went to green projects, from large energy grids and interconnectors to the deployment of storage and renewables, clean technologies for the decarbonisation of heavy industry, as well as adaptation investment, such as water infrastructure, reinforcing the resilience of economies and societies to climate change and its impact.
A record €11.6 billion was devoted to grids and storage projects, supporting the security of the power supply. It is estimated that the financing signed last year will help construct or upgrade 56,000 km of power lines, from the landmark Bay of Biscay interconnector between the Iberian Peninsula and France, through an underwater cable connecting two regions in central Italy, to local grids and municipal power infrastructure in Germany.
EIB Group financing backed one fifth of all newly installed solar capacity, one in three new onshore wind projects, as well as the vast majority of all offshore wind projects in 2025. Tailored financing products supported the EU’s wind and grids manufacturing industries, while record high investment volumes in energy efficiency are expected to lower bills for small and medium-sized companies and households. EIB Group financing supported around one third of the total energy transition investment in the EU last year.
In addition to clean technologies, the EIB Group is supporting homegrown innovation in health and biotech, artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies, digital infrastructures and critical raw materials. With the rollout of TechEU last year, the biggest ever financing programme for innovation, the EIB Group plans to mobilise at least €250 billion in investment by 2027, ensuring that ideas, technologies and innovative companies born in the EU, can stay, grow and thrive here in the EU. The financing deployed last year alone is estimated to mobilize more than €100 billion in investment, from AI-powered 6G networks, to semiconductors manufacturing.
As cornerstone financier of innovation, the European Investment Fund (EIF) – EIB’s risk-finance subsidiary – delivered close to €16 billion in guarantees and equity finance for small businesses and startups across the EU. The EIF is estimated to have contributed almost a quarter of all venture capital raised by European funds last year. In the months ahead, it will expand its European Tech Champions Initiative, building on the huge success of the first phase, which has already anchored the creation of 12 venture capital mega funds in Europe, and the scale-up of 35 startups – including nine unicorns.
Security and defence
Responding to the new geopolitical landscape, the EIB Group significantly expanded the scope of its activities in the area of security and defence and into projects dedicated to military use. Security and defence investments quadrupled to more than €4 billion, close to 5% of the EIB Group's EU financing.
Thanks to this step change, the EIB Group plays a leading role in safeguarding peace and security for EU citizens, with flagship projects ranging from military camps and maintenance facilities to research and development in advanced radar systems and avionics, and from sensors essential for the protection of Europe’s seabed and underwater assets to cybersecurity infrastructure and space capabilities.
Moreover, the EIB Group has been a pathfinder for EU’s financial industry, catalysing support for companies supporting Europe’s deterrence capabilities. Through intermediated lending agreements signed with commercial banks in Germany, France, Spain, Greece, and Austria, the EIB Group is facilitating access to financing for small and medium-sized companies in the supply chain of Europe’s large defence contractors, while the EIF has been nurturing, as anchor investor, the development of a venture capital ecosystem investing in defence firms with a pan-European approach.
Underpinning Europe’s economic model and values
The EIB Group is focusing on investments that underpin the European economic model and values. Investments for cohesion rose to a record high, with more than 50% of the Group’s EU investment going to projects in Europe’s less developed regions.
The EIB Group's Affordable and Sustainable Housing Plan (available in EN, FR and DE) launched in 2025 alongside the European Commission, raised EIB Group financing for innovation, renovation and new buildings to more than €5 billion, up nearly 50% on an annual basis, with a further increase planned for 2026. From student residences in Greece, to social housing in Belgium, from hospitals and health facilities in Spain, to primary schools in France, financing for social infrastructure whose impact is felt daily by EU citizens is a key priority for the EIB Group.
Financing for agriculture and the bioeconomy also rose to a record high of nearly €8 billion, strengthening a vital sector for Europe’s economy and food security, supporting rural communities, and creating viable futures for young and new farmers, who face financing barriers
Building bridges and win-win partnerships around the world
The EIB Group also deployed more than €9 billion for its EIB Global operations, building win-win global partnerships anchoring Europe as a trusted partner in a changing world, improving living conditions in many areas. For example, in 2025, the EIB Group financing for water projects rose to a record €5 billion globally.
Financing for Ukraine rose to a new record and now exceeds €4 billion since the start of Russia's invasion, with a new project signed or inaugurated every other week, from schools, hospitals and community facilities to district heating and power supply.
An EIB Global strategic orientation was adopted in 2025, fully aligning our operations with EU policy priorities. The EIB is the world’s largest public financier in water and a global leader investing in health, clean energy, and transport. Investments in private sector support and entrepreneurship brings opportunities for young people and women in emerging economies.
Doing more, doing better
In parallel to increasing the volume of its activities, the EIB Group has streamlined its internal processes, with the goal of accelerating investment decisions and cutting time to market. One-stop-shops have been introduced for clients, with investment checkers and reliance on established regulatory frameworks, designed to help Europe’s entrepreneurs get the right financing, at the right time, and the right scale to make a difference.
The full activity report, including a list of flagship project examples can be found here
A key figures summary for 2025 can be found here: [EN] [FR] [DE] [IT] [ES]
The presentation of the EIB Group’s annual operational[1] results, including project examples will be available here after the press conference
[1] All figures are unaudited and provisional, refer to signatures and are for the EIB Group unless otherwise specified.